Tapers, how do you clean your tools?

McDusty

I have never 'cleaned' my boxes, super taper, pan, or any of the angle head tools. i store everything in water. a small plastic container holds my super-taper, pan & all angle heads. with about 2" of water, it's enough to keep any mud in there soft until the next use. my boxes & pump are stored in a 1/2 full pail of of water. i have a hole cut in a lid to the diameter of the pump so i can still put the lid on and water won't splash out during transport.

The plus side is i never waste time cleaning my tools, and there are never chunks of hard mud. And, even if the site has no water, that's ok, i've always got enough to last me the day. your pump will last forever, the seals won't dry out and mud doesn't hardens in there. The super taper doesn't get chunky. I've never spent more than 4 seconds cleaning a super taper or angle roller.

The down side, i guess the pail with the boxes & pump is a bit heavy, but that's ok, i don't mind, small price to pay for never having to clean my boxes.

The metal sliders on the flusher/glazer heads do rust, the first slide leaves a brown streak. do inside of closet first even though paint should cover. the rust does not effect performance of the otherwise, all stainless glazer head.

Some guys don't like putting their hands in water like that all the time, i can understand that if it dries your hands out really bad. I don't have that problem, i don't even have a towel or moisturizer and my hands don't crack, it's great. My brother has to use surgical gloves for super-taping because it dries his hands out so bad. So far so good for me.

Anyway, that was a long rant about something pretty simple. What are your opinions?

MeatBallDryWall

I usually clean my bazooka/roller/glazer after I"m done taping unless it's freezing outside. The pump just gets washed off with a brush (outside) & I leave the mud inside as it will not harden. My boxes might sit in water a while but I usually wash them out after each coat or job completion.

TonyM

Do you not clean your tools because you can't be bothered or is your time 'that precious?'
Most of my tools get hosed out and lubricated after use. They will start to stink after a while if not cleaned and I can't live with that smell in my van.

Mudshark

I think McDusty you have a good handle on it - I found a square shaped pail a little less than 5 gal. holds my 10' and 12" boxes just right so you aren't carrying extra water. Stilts, benches and the like that are not as fussy I wait for a rainy day and set them outside.

Tim0282

I clean all of the tools after each use. If we do a house in the morning and one in the afternoon, I wash them when I am done in the morning. Start with a fresh set in the afternoon. Can't stand to work with dirty tools. The mud is too corosive to leave in the boxes. To each his own, I guess.

rhardman

We're watching this thread rrrrreeeaaaallllll close!

McDusty

add up all the time you spend cleaning your tools in your taping career and see how many DAYS you lost in your life. 5 minutes here, 5 minutes there adds up really quick.

TonyM

So do you turn your 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there into extra earnings, or just go home early?

joepro0000

I clean the tools with a hose and say F' being lazy. Out here they will dry up, especially bazookas. Thats something you can't play around with.

FOR THOSE ABOUT

Isn't that what car washes are for

fr8train

I clean my work tools immediately following use, but then we use only setting compound. Now my private tools, that I use bucket mud for, the boxes I will let sit a bit, the taper gets cleaned when I get home, if there isn't a hose for me to do it with on-site.

McDusty

both.

McDusty

damn right, that's where i wash my benches from time to time. it's almost fun.

alltex

Sometimes i just put them in a mud bag and try to get the air out or just seal the inlet on the box with plastic.If its freezing ,all the better ,just thaw them out when you need them ,brush down and go to work.When using freez and thaw system ,be sure to empty the tool before freezing.After you thaw the tool ,the mud will wash off real easy too .I,v left tools frozen for a month and when cleaned it was just as i left it ,no harm done!throw up if you want ,but it works pretty good.But usualy i like to store them clean.

Tim0282

Do you ever wash your truck? Can't understand why you wouldn't keep your tools (a kinda large investment) clean everyday. Even twice a day. Do you ever change the oil in your truck?? Your compressor? Do you put throat oil in your airless? Wow, I am shocked about not cleaning tools! Do you change the blade on your box. How often do you check to see if your angle head is running true and is it square? Preventative maintenance is cleaning your tools. Isn't it?

Muddauber

I bought a pressure washer a few years back to clean the tools.

I wish I had all the quarters that I've dropped in the car wash slots through the years. When I started in drywall it only took 1 quarter to start the washer.

FOR THOSE ABOUT

Did your car wash post "No Drywallers Allowed"? Mine did

McDusty

I don't want to keep my tools clean because it doesn't help anything. It does NOT make them last longer, if anything, they last a shorter amount of time from all the scrubbing. I am a firm believer that cleaning tools wears them out faster. I inspect my tools during every use for proper function... not if they are clean.

And it's not like they aren't clean, they are clean, just wet. The mud falls right off my tools while they sit in their water containers it all collects at the bottom of the container.

my vehicle has 464,000kms on it, got there from regular maintenance, not from making sure i've washed the bugs off the hood.

McDusty

hahahhahahah no but that is friggin hilarious.

MeatBallDryWall

lmao